Eli Manning knows New York City can bring out the best — and the worst — in people, his Giants included.

“I don’t know if it’s just being in New York or what causes it, but it seems like there is always something going on and there is a distraction,” Manning said today in the wake of the Plaxico Burress shooting incident.

The Giants have handled, even thrived, on every distraction thrown their way the previous year-and-a-half. But a star receiver shooting himself in the thigh with an unlicensed gun is different than anything else they have faced.

The stakes have been raised, but the Giants seem confident they can keep their poker face.

“We have had our share of [distractions] and I think myself, the players, the coaches have learned how to cope with them and how to deal with them and how to not make a distraction bigger by what you say and what you do,” Manning said.

This situation differs in a couple of ways. Though Burress’ fate has been sealed on the field, he could face jail time for owning an unlicensed gun.

“Obviously this one is different because one of our players, one of our teammates, and friend is in trouble, and so it’s not about him letting us down or anything,” Manning said.

“You put all that aside and just worry about the individual and we worry about Plaxico and his well being and so I think the players have reacted that way and know that he needs our help right now and our support — and he’s got it.”

Linebacker Antonio Pierce’s status with the law and the team is still up in the air. Pierce, who is the defensive leader, is expected to play this week against the Eagles, but with so much still to be decided, it is difficult to gage his availability beyond Sunday.

“Yeah, I’m not going to lie, it is tough,” defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka said. “I’m pretty sure it is tough for him, too – him and his family, but like I said, he is as professional as you can find in an NFL locker room. And we know what we are going to get from him during practice and in the games. And that is all we can really be focused on. The rest of it, if he needs any help, if he needs anything at all, we will definitely be here to help him, but there is little any of us can do.”

The Giants don’t want to think about how their defense will be affected by losing Pierce. For now, the offense has to deal with losing one of its primary weapons, not for one week like earlier this season, but for the rest of the season including the postseason.

“I don’t think you really replace somebody like Plaxico,” said receiver Amani Toomer, who will be one of the players looked at to improve his game in Burress’ absence.

“I think everybody has to step up their game and pick up the slack, a lot like what happened when (Jeremy) Shockey went down (near the end of last season). It is kind of the same situation, and hopefully we can overcome that and have a successful season like we did last year.”

Jets QB Brett Favre, who knows a thing or two about dealing with the media, is impressed the way the Giants have handled the controversy swirling around them.

“I give Coach (Tom) Coughlin a lot of credit,” Favre said. “He has handled it very well. The guys that they have on that team have handled it very well.

“They have managed to just go out and focus on the job at hand. It is nice to not have to deal with issues. I’m not saying that you can’t have success dealing with issues, because the Giants are proving that you can. It’s part of it. You never know when it’s going to come and how it will come, whether it be on-the-field or off-the-field issues.”

But Favre said players have to be smart about how they handle their success.

“I speak individually for players, in order to play a long time you have to have a lot of luck on the field, obviously. Fall into the right place, whatever,” Favre said. “You also have to be smart off the field and be able to manage your success as well as failure if you want to play a long time.”